ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how few ideas emerged as cornerstones for the research and various forms of practice. The preference for analyzing proximal influences on behavior stems less from conviction than from the quest for attributing cause to observed behavior. The research on turning points (TPs) is a case in point. Recall the framework developed to analyze TPs in negotiation: precipitants lead to departures, which produce consequences. Simmel’s proposition on the intensifying influence of contrasting ideologies set the stage for the work on interests and values. Sherif’s ideas about individual and group levels of analysis focus on products of an interaction process that includes “developing reciprocities among individuals, organizational structures, and group products, like social norms”. A more complex form of responsiveness is Goffman’s idea of expression games, where intentions are judged and attributions are made from nonverbal signals.
